Amazon has launched Alexa+, its generative AI upgrade to Alexa, in India with Hindi and Hinglish support. Early Access is free for everyone starting today. Amazon has already confirmed what it costs after that: ₹2,000 a month for anyone who isn’t on a qualifying Prime plan, according to Amazon’s own announcement.
Alexa launched in India in English in 2017 and added Hindi in 2019. Amazon says Indian customers have interacted with Alexa more than nine billion times in the past 12 months.
Pricing: what’s free and what isn’t
Alexa+ is free for every customer during Early Access, which starts today. After that window closes, Prime members keep Alexa+ for free. Everyone else pays. Amazon’s own post spells out the split for Prime Lite, Prime Shopping Edition, and non-Prime customers: “Alexa+ access will not auto-renew and will be available either as a standalone subscription for ₹2,000/month or through Prime plan.”
That’s a meaningful cost for a voice assistant many Indian households currently use for free. Amazon’s pitch is that Alexa+ now does real tasks, not just answers questions. That’s the trade it’s asking customers to pay for.
What Alexa+ can actually do
The headline feature is language-switching mid-sentence between English, Hindi, and Hinglish, the code-mixed way many Indians actually speak. Amazon says Alexa+ can also order groceries through its quick-commerce service Amazon Now and control smart home devices from brands like Atomberg, Qubo, Dreame, and Wipro. It can also pull customized meal ideas from Sanjeev Kapoor Recipes.
Amazon is integrating Alexa+ with several India-specific services at launch. These include Swiggy for food delivery, District by Zomato for event and dining reservations, and music from JioSaavn alongside Amazon Music and Spotify. Restaurant bookings through EazyDiner and travel planning through MakeMyTrip and TripAdvisor are coming soon, not available yet.
Teena Sidana, Amazon’s Country Manager for Alexa in India, framed the update this way in the company’s own post:
“This all-new Alexa is not just smarter, but genuinely capable of getting things done for customers in the real world.”
New hardware built for it
Amazon says the Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, Echo Dot Max, and Echo Studio are purpose-built for Alexa+. These devices pack more processing power and edge-based computing than earlier Echo models. Buying one of these gets a customer immediate Alexa+ access without waiting for the Early Access rollout to reach them.
Alexa+ has already launched in the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, and Germany this year. India is the latest market, and the first with dedicated Hinglish support.
Source: Amazon India
